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I was not sure where to post this. But, it seemed pretty amazing to me. Apparently, if you are healthy enough to work and make more than 200% of the poverty level or, as has been described as a total of $21,000.00 you are being cut from the ADAP whether or not you have insurance.

The choices seem to be to stop taking the medicine and die or stop working and get on welfare. Seriously?!

Of course, often, according to the statistics is HIV spread through sexual contact. However, there are other ways. And, even if there are not, that presupposes that sex is bad. Further, these comments seem more like the 'God's punishment' comments.

The commentor about cancer should be careful with her comments. It turns out many of the newly diagnosed in Arkansas are straight women -- a growing percentage! I am assuming this is an anti-homosexual remark she made.

And, another thing, she got cancer and thinks it is not due to sexual contact? Maybe the cause of cancer is virus transmitted during sexual contact. We all know the new-ish studies are suggesting this for some types of cancer.

Idiocy! I guess I better stop typing now before I am reduced to screaming!

Thanks for posting the link to this news article. It's disturbing news. I'm your neighbor in Louisiana. I have not heard of this happening here but do know that Medicaid has been cut by millions or more and it has cost people to lose their jobs. As the article mentioned, as more people loose their employer-sponsored health insurance due to job cuts, more people are applying for state health insurance - it's happening everywhere - the demand for services is increasing and the funding is being reduced. Overall, I think it's a sad reflection on the state of our healthcare situation in this country as a whole. Hopefully the people affected by these cuts in Arkansas will be able to get prescription assistance from the pharmaceutical manufacturer, unless the state restores funding or gives some "emergency" type funding. Maybe media attention will help, who knows. Does anyone know if the HIV/AIDS resource centers there are doing any type of advocacy to get funding restored? Has anyone contacted their state legislators and expressed their opinion that funding for these medications continue? Sometimes when people jump on a particular "bandwagon" the situation changes. Good luck and I'll be thinking about ya'll up there. Take care, Roy.

Well i hate to inform some folks but, some cancers are sexually transmitted ... caused by a virus (retro) and generally takes many years for the cancer to show up later in life... if the economy does not pick up which will probally not be anytime soon... more cuts will happen in the near future. I hope not but, cuts on anything and everything... I'm afraid will happen.

Don't blame anyone but the democrats they have control of both houses the same as State of Arkansas.

Rod, that is a dishonest statement, because Republicans have controlled HIV funding for 8 years and it is THEIR irresponsible spending that has caused all the cuts and deaths these past years. I'm appalled that you would be so partisan with this, when it is the fault of Congress that we are allowing people to die. Both Democrats and Republicans are to blame, but who cares, when the real goal should be to fix it.

No wonder it's so hard to have a respectful conversation on something that may affect us all, when you toss around this Faux News bullshit.

Joe irresponsible spending? 50 billion to GM because if they went bankrupt that would put 3 millon people out of work. They got their 50 billion from the democrats and they still filed bankruptcy. 750 billion for a stimulus package that didn't work, now come on Joe you can at least do better than that.

RapidRod, small fries compared to the $915.1 billion dollars the previous Republican government dedicated to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is it safe to assume you prefer your gov't to spend your money bombing people abroad than saving jobs in the U.S. and keeping people from dying because their states could no longer afford to pay for their ADAP coverage? You help vote this all in.

OK, Rod you are right I can do better. How about you explain to me how Republicans underfunded Ryan White for 8 years, when for a lousy extra $100 million, that's with a M, not a B as in the cost of Bush's war of choice, they could have prevented the deaths of pozzies waiting on ADAP lists. Those body counts were on the Republican watch, so don't give me some crap how it's all Democrats fault, because they bailed out GM. One has NOTHING THE FUCK TO DO WITH THE OTHER.

edited to add, if you think getting dumped from ADAP is no big deal, then please drop your Medicaid, with it's drug coverage and live for a year and then tell me I'm the wrong one here. I find your whole attitude about funding for the HIV community to be disgusting and blaming the Democrats for everything solves absolutely nothing. In the meantime more pozzies die, due to a lack of funding, but then again, your ass is already covered, isn't it?

There you go agian Joe making assumptions. Not one person even mentioned that it was alright to dump anyone from ADAP. So don't even go there with your false assumptions. Try reading the forum completely before going off on one of your tirades.

Rod, I've been reading the news for years now. Please explain to me why anyone should be cut from ADAP, due to a lack of funding. I don't care who is in office, but explain how we could not afford $100m to keep pozzies alive, but we can spend $1.35 trillion on Bush tax cuts for the rich, $700 billion Bush bailout, and the $1b cost of his war of choice? What amazes me is you have no outrage over your own government screwing over your own community, just to enrich others. If that is called a tirade, then I am guilt as charged.

This is just sad, and I find the comments underneath the article even sadder. Judging from those comments, some would like to see a qualification on the level of your responsibility... I guess the witch hunt mentality still exists.

I think this has more to do with economics than a particular parties agenda. Yea Bush fucked it up, we all know that by now and it ain't gonna be fixed anytime soon. Expect worse than this... seriously.

In my opinion, one of the best ways to fix this problem would be to revamp the entire medical assistance program. If the unbelievable amount of waste that goes on was stopped, there would be plenty of funding available to keep people on the ADAP programs and for everyone to get medical assistance that needed it. I work in an inner city ER and the number of people that come in for problems that they have had for two weeks but haven't bothered to go to the clinic for, come in (and I swear this is a direct quote) because they were "in the area", come in because they have thrown up twice, come in because they are constipated (and have done nothing at home to relieve it), come in (while eating Mcdonalds) because of abdominal pain, etc etc is unreal. Many of these folks also take ambulances in because they think they won't have to wait that way or they didn't want to pay for a cab / take the bus. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these patients are on state assistance. I firmly believe that if people had to pay a copay for an ER visit if they come in and are not admited to the hospital, much of this abuse of the system would stop. That is the rule that most private insurance companies have, I have a $150 copay for any ER visit that does not result in a hospital admission. I will need to be bleeding profusely or have something falling off before I will go. It seems that with less money to go around the object needs to be controlling spending, not punishing people who happen to make more than $21,000 a year.

I think this has more to do with economics than a particular parties agenda. Yea Bush fucked it up, we all know that by now and it ain't gonna be fixed anytime soon. Expect worse than this... seriously.

There could be some good old fashion Bible belt 'morality' at play too. After all, this is the state that elected Mike Huckabee governor.

I think you're right it's going to get worse. I'm sure not resting easy.

Rod, I've been reading the news for years now. Please explain to me why anyone should be cut from ADAP, due to a lack of funding. I don't care who is in office, but explain how we could not afford $100m to keep pozzies alive, but we can spend $1.35 trillion on Bush tax cuts for the rich, $700 billion Bush bailout, and the $1b cost of his war of choice? What amazes me is you have no outrage over your own government screwing over your own community, just to enrich others. If that is called a tirade, then I am guilt as charged.

Joe, you've been reading his posts for years now and you should know by now the man has no courage of his convictions. Instead of knocking the government that he relies on for his very existence he should follow the example of our own BT65. While on disabilty she took advantage (instead of knocking) what our government has to offer and completed her higher education. She's out there right now looking for a job (not without set-backs) that will allow her to leave the welfare roll. A shining example for all HIV infected people.

The inconsitant manner in which ADAP is managed at the state level is one of the thorns in the side of what USED to be the CARE act (Now the Treatment Modernization Act--don't we all FEEL more modernized now?) Dropping people off ADAP and/or instituting waiting lists should NEVER happen and showed spur activits to get on the stick.

My state--Michigan, originally had about 600 people on ADAP when I first started being an activist. Now we have 2,600 and spend close to $22 million JUST for ADAP meds. As more people live longer with HIV in my state, more become ADAP elligible, as more people become infected in my state, more are coming right from the street with no insurance and are ADAP elligible. Pretty soon all we'll be able to pay for is meds. At least I live in a state that as of now, even WITH huge economic concerns, is still committted to ADAP. This is mostly due to the fact of our strong local medicaid programs at the county level.

I appreciate the vigorous debate. However, to blame one political party over another seems folly to me. But, that was not the purpose of the post.

In Arkansas, I have heard all sorts of reasons this is happening. They seem to be everything from the stated: drastic increase in numbers; all the way to mismanagement, favoring one dentist by paying him more than a million dollars to several folks in the Department of Health have misallocated the money and don't understand the illness.

Who knows what is true about the blame. But, the fact remains that working people with HIV will be facing a tough choice. The choice between stopping working, going on welfare or simply stop taking medicine -- the result of which appears to be eventual death.

Now, the question is how do we break the back of this disease. I am certain this will not include blaming one lame political party over another.

Why not treat HIV like TB? Lots of testing, focus positives into Public Health and put everyone on medicine. I seem to recall a study or opinion that this sort of thing might stop the disease in one generation.

And, I think we all need to ask those elected and those running for office what they plan to do about this. Take time to educate them. If they wont come along, vote for someone else.

For those of us in America: Who is to solve the health care problem? Maybe we who have HIV are to do it -- that is fixing the system. I think most of us must have a doctoral degree in what's wrong with it.

Is it time that several of us in each area run for office? Pick the party, it doesn't matter. But, run on the issue with some real answers that are born out of our real experience.

Ah, if it were only as easy as blaming the republicans or the democrats! It is incumbent on us to fix this mess -- no matter who made it.

(Yes, if everyone in a population were regularly tested and everyone who was HIV+ treated the epidemic would stop but 1) you'd be tramping on individual's right to refuse treatment (thus HIV remains transmisable) and 2) who'd pay and 3) would it be a global or local solution cause if only local then the virus continues to threaten reentry from outside the controlled area 4) etc etc etc.)

It's a good idea to try to get President Clinton to do some awareness raising and education, immediately, on this situation in Arkansas. Yet another proof that health care reform is needed NOW.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I appreciate the discussion about the expense of the course of action I suggested. But, if we are to discuss costs, I think it is important to consider costs individually, to the community, to the state and to the economy of not investing money now to stop this disease.

Yes, it will cost. But, what is the cost of not treating this in an aggressive way, such as has been done with TB.

I also appreciate the comments on individual rights. However, what happened to those individual rights in the case of TB? Ebola? Or, any other dangerous and reportable disease? The US government has made decisions in other illnesses that curtail individual rights in favor of public health and welfare. The treatment model for TB being one of them. Is the government telling us they don't care as much about or are not as concerned about HIV as they are TB?

All good questions and interesting. I am of the opinion that aggressive treatment is probably the only answer. Of course, I am not ny sort of doctor of health care. My doctorate is in an entirely different field. But, I do base my opinion on the studies that are suggesting aggressive treatment as a viable option. But, again, that is expensive. But, is it less expensive than what we have already been doing?

I also appreciate the comments on individual rights. However, what happened to those individual rights in the case of TB? Ebola? Or, any other dangerous and reportable disease? The US government has made decisions in other illnesses that curtail individual rights in favor of public health and welfare.

TB and Ebola are contagious diseases. I believe that is the foundation for the deprivation of human rights in obligatory treatment.

You can't accidently infect someone with HIV going about your life. An HIV+ person can easily argue he/she is no threat to anyone.

I agree about the universal treatment. Would reduce HIV to small numbers in a generation or less.

Logged

“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” 1875 K Marx

I wonder if this means that funding is restored and people will be able to get back on ADAP?

House Energy and Commerce Panel Approves Bill To Extend Ryan White Program

October 16, 2009

A bill to extend the Ryan White CARE Act, which was set to expire on October 30, was sent to the House of Representatives floor October 15 after being approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The federal program—which has provided assistance to low-income and uninsured Americans living with HIV/AIDS since 1990—would receive about $2.5 billion annually through this legislation through the 2013 fiscal year. About 500,000 people receive services through Ryan White each year.

According to the article, passage of this bill could have significant impact on positive people living in certain parts of New Jersey, California, Puerto Rico and New York. Since funding allocation is determined by HIV/AIDS prevalence, certain areas of those states could lose eligibility for assistance by 2011. This bill will allow towns in these states to continue receiving funds if they meet certain criteria.